Store Crazy: London’s Monster Supplies Shop

Located in an inconspicuous high street in Hackney East London, the unusual shop's shelves are lined with weird and wonderful items - ranging from cubed earwax, a tin of night terrors and jars of salt made from tears of sorrow.

But the reason the quirky shop sells things that go bump in the night is not just to give you the heebie jeebies, it’s actually to encourage children to write.

The shop is in relation to Ministry of Stories - a local mentoring and writing centre where anyone aged 8 - 18 can come and discover their own gift for creative writing.

Co-founded by novelist Nick Hornby, the organisation to encourage children and young adults to develop writing skills was inspired by a project fellow writer Dave Eggers founded in New York in 2002.

Hoxton Street Monster Supplies donates all profits to the charity, which is located just behind the shop.

The bags of toasted bone chunks are actually honeycomb, tins of ‘fear’ are actually filled with boiled sweets, cubed earwax are blocks fudge and jars of Thickest Human Snot is actually lemon curd.

Shopkeeper and volunteer Emily Murdock spends her days in character, telling customers about all of the creepy items they can purchase.

She said: "We are here mainly for monsters, so our supplies are all orientated towards things that monsters need, or would like for their cave or lair.

“The Ministry of Stories runs after school clubs, we encourage them in every fun possible way we can to get writing and our emphasis is on children’s imaginations.

"When children come here they first pass through the shop before they head onto their workshop, or club and it sets the stage for it becoming a really different kind of experience."